Drew Brees Book Excerpt: ‘Coming Back Stronger’

By Gayle Saunders
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Almost a year ago, the cameras surrounded quarterback Drew Brees in an emotional moment as he held his son in his arms after an amazing Super Bowl win.

For the man who had a near career-ending injury to now being named the MVP of the Super Bowl, his storybook ending could only be seen as something inspiring.
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The Saints trade Jammal Brown to the Redskins

By Gayle Saunders
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On Saturday The Washington Redskins and the New Orleans Saints agreed on a trade for Offensive Tackle Jammal Brown.

The Redskins will probably be sending their 2011 third- or fourth-round pick to the Eagles as part of the Donovan Mcnabb deal, which depends on his performance. Whichever one of those picks is not sent the Eagles way, will then go to the Saints, as well as a potential future late-round pick.
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Darren Sharper vs Kevin Faulk! (ooowee)

By Gayle Saunders
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Kevin Faulk picks up the ringing phone on Monday Night Football as Darren Sharper plays on the role as Operator!

Saints attend Gulf Aid Benefit Relief Concert

New Orleans Saints Players Lynell Hamilton, Tracey Porter, Demario Pressley and Usama Young raised awarness for the Oil Spill at the Gulf Aid Benefit Relief Concert on May 16th 2010 featuring Lenny Kravitz & Mos Def.

Brees wins fan vote to be on Madden 2011 cover

By Gayle Saunders
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Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees just landed a coveted honor in sports…No its not another Super Bowl Ring or an MVP Trophy . Drew Brees is the new cover model for this year’s edition of the “Madden NFL” video game. Is he scared of the curse? No…he actually believes its “a great way to cap off an amazing year”

“I believe in fate, and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” he said. “But destiny is stronger than any curse, and this team is destined for great things.”

On Thursday EA Sports announced that the New Orleans Saints QB quarterback would be featured on the front of “Madden NFL 11,” Brees, who led the New Orleans Saint to a 31-17 victory over Peyton Manning and the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.

The “Madden” cover is one of the most popular honors in sports, even though it has been attached to the much-discussed curse. Such recent stars who were affected by the curse, Troy Polalmalu, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and Shaun Alexander suffered serious injuries during the seasons that they appeared on the cover.

Brees said he hopes the presence of the Saints’ fleur-de-lis logo on the “Madden” cover “keeps people focused on what happened to New Orleans, and what the people of this city have overcome.”

Brees was chosen by fans who voted online to determine the game’s cover athlete. The other choices were Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne and Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen. “Madden NFL 11″ will be released by EA Sports on August 10, 2010.

Reggie Bush – leaves them breathless!

This could be sickest spin into a downhill cut we’ve seen in a long time. Simply remarkable!

Cardinals vs Saints – A look at the Divisional Playoff battle!!

The NFC Divisional Round game between the Saints and the Cardinals could be viewed in many different ways. Some may say “it’s gonna be an offensive explosion” while others may feel “these two teams are headed in different directions.” While it’s true, both teams have great offenses and the Saints have looked very ordinary over the last 3 weeks of the season while the Cardinals are once again clicking when it matters, at the end of the season!

Let’s look at some interesting facts about these two teams as they get ready to do battle to move on the the NFC Championship game. The Kurt Warner led Cardinals are 6-1 on the road this year, 6-2 without him. The Cardinals also should be looking to shore up a defense that was torched against the Packers in the WildCard round. The Cards Defense is more improved than a year ago, giving up only 20.3 ppg as opposed to the 26.6 from last season.

The Saints defense finished ranked 25th overall and 20th in scoring. They were however able to score themselves quite a bit with 8 TD’s, Darren Sharper led that charge with 3. The Saints Offense finished ranked 1st in the NFL and this is an interesting tid bit of information – the Saints have re-signed Deuce McCallister and he will be leading the team out of the tunnel! That could be an emotional boost for the Saints and will definitely fire up the home crowd into a wave of emotion.

Here are some things that we see troublesome. Can you turn it back up once you’ve shut it down? The Saints, back when they faced the Patriots on Monday Night Football, looked like the best team in the league. They were clicking and they were unstoppable. Since then however they have shut it down a bit. Rested some players and set the cruise control button. Can they get it jumpstarted enough to face a team that did the same thing last year that they are trying to do this year – get hot at the right time and ride that momentum all the way to Super Bowl XLIV.

In the end this game will come down to defense and who can stop who enough. Both teams are going to get their points but the question will be who can get the key turnover, who can get the key 3rd down stop and who will play with the least amount of mistakes. We know the Cardinals are ready but are the Saints? We will soon find out!

PLAYOFFS!!!!!

December football only means one thing, it’s time to start thinking PLAYOFFS! In this segment we look at the Playoff picture as it stands and the schedule each team faces, along with the keys to their success. Let’s get started. Read more

Easy Breesy

By Gayle Saunders

When your team is 6-0 and you’re the talk of the NFL everything else just seems to fall in place. For Drew Brees, the leader of the New Orlean Saints everything in his football career hasn’t always been that easy.

When the Saints signed the sore-armed Brees in 06, word around the league was that the Pro-Bowl QB would be a shadow of his former self. What did he do that season? Drew stood tall and became the savior of the Saints, leading his team to its first NFC title game. Not only did he stand as a sign of change for the New Orlean Saints, but he became a symbol of hope for the broken city of New Orleans. Drew Brees has been put on a pedestal in the hearts of Saints fans, becoming the most popular QB in New Orleans since the great Archie Manning.

Growing up as a kid Drew was a quintessential student of the game and just happened to be born into a football family. Drew’s Grandfather Ray Akins, was a Legend in Texas high school football and Drew’s Uncle was a starting QB for the University of Texas in the 70’s. His parents also named him after the great Cowboy WR Drew Pearson. When other young children were out being a kid, Brees was preparing for a career in football. Not until his Jr year in High School did Drew come into his own on the football field. He competed for the starting job at QB and finally made his mark. Not your typical Texas size QB, as they say everything is bigger in Texas, Brees was barely 6′0 ft tall and had a skinny frame. Many wondered if his body could take the beating. The one thing people could all agree on, was the rifle of an arm the young man possessed. In the two years with Drew at the helm, his football team went 28-0-1.

Drew knew that he had the talent to succeed at the next level and to be a top college quarterback. The only thing is, the top schools never came calling. The only two schools to offer Brees a scholarship were Kentucky and Purdue. With Tim Couch at Kentucky he made the easy choice, the Purdue Boilermakers. While at Purdue he continued his steady success and by the time he was a Junior, Drew was winning big games as usual, so much so that he considered skipping his senior season. Purdue fans should thank Peyton Manning for talking him into staying. Peyton told Drew that he would never again have a chance to be a college student. He took the wise advice of Manning and finished 4th in voting for the Heisman Trophy.

As a Pro, scouts questioned his size and after a career threatening injury the Chargers questioned his durability. Drew Brees has had his share of doubters as well as naysayers. This season he has passed for 1698 yds and thrown 14 tds while completing 67% of his passes with a 106.9 QB rating. The Saints are averaging 39.7 pts per game in the first 6 games of the season. In 2009 his success is now reaching a new level and his play on the field is just another example of his true leadership, hard work and love for the game. Brees has breathed life into a one time losing organization and he has created a bond with his teammates and most importantly within his community. Brees works with various foundations which you can read more about at www.drewbrees.com and Drew has not only exceeded expectations as a player, but his enthusiasm for the game has been contagious for the Saints Nation.

Watching him mount a comeback, this past weekend from a 24-3 first half deficit against the Miami Dolphins, Brees told his head coach right before half time to not go for a field goal on a crucial 4th and 2 with :05 left. He told Sean Payton to trust him and let him go for it on a QB sneak. What did head Coach Payton do? He put faith in Brees and believed in him. Drew Brees snuck in for a TD to change the momentum and the game around.

Meanwhile not only has he made a believer out of his coach  but the city of New Orleans and the rest of the NFL. In the words of Drew Brees on his signing day in 2006 with the Saints “I know this town is craving a winner, and you’re gonna get one” We couldn’t have said it any better.